This might seem a trivial thread -- in fact, it certainly *IS* a trivial thread, and yet, I'm writing it because I am compelled to do so based on needing to share one of the most positive bang-for-buck consumer acquisitions I've ever made with my fellow Bogleheads.

I am a 'shower-guy'. Always have been. Even as a child, I hated the idea of sitting in that tub with the dirty water that just came off of you, now surrounding you. Then the tub ring, and waiting for it to fill, and adjusting for temp difficult, etc. Yuk. As soon as my parents allowed it, I was showering on my own to avoid having to take a bath!

Then sometime in the seventies Waterpik (I believe) came up with the shower massager. That was a nice innovation, but it was hardly spectacular in my eyes, just an incremental improvement. And with that one refinement now done, who could really expect more under the heading of "Advanced Showering Technology"? I mean, a shower is a shower. The water sprays out, you get under it, then you towel off.

Well, friends, I recently discovered I have been living an incomplete life, in a fool's paradise, and with my ten or twenty minutes per day showering being spent as a 'meh' need-to-do chore, instead of the delicious mini-vacation that it could be, one that literally brought laughs and smiles to me this morning!

What transformed this daily deed from a task to a joy?

One little piece of apparatus attached to my plumbing (well, technically three pieces, as we will see.)

For some reason, when my current standard variety-store purchased massaging shower head began to scale up and flow was slowing down, I figured I'd shop on Amazon for a replacement.

I thought : "Please. Who needs to pay double or triple a supermarket shower head price just to get a fancy polished finish?"

But, then I read the reviews. First I read the reviews for this exact product (5 stars), then I also found the *really* expensive products these guys also make, and read *those* reviews, too. What the heck? The reviewers mostly spoke about this shower head like it was some sort of religious experience and not just a morning prep activity like shaving.

Well, I am not easily swayed, but there really did seem to be something there, and for something I have to do, all the time, I decided -- why not go ahead and splurge this once, on a ridiculously overpriced fixture, even if I did not experience the heights of ecstasy that it evoked in most of these commenters. It would still be functional, and look nice, to boot.

Well, let me tell you, you put this bad boy on the air-mix function, and it is not pounding you like a Waterpik massager, but instead it is coming out with an intensity that is apparently very fast, but then paradoxically not too hard when it impacts your skin, and it turns out this is because the water is apparently suffused with air bubbles. It is the most delightful, wonderful sensation. And it does not just feel good, it also works fantastic for actual cleaning and superior in rinsing of suds away, and has a HUGE expansive coverage area, but the shower somehow does not seem to pay any penalty in either flow or pressure for the fact it's operating area is so much larger than my old shower.

In short, if there is a magic showerhead, I have seen and experienced it, and Hansgrobe be thy name.

For both of my showers I have now bought these heads, along with the mounting hardware and hoses to match, but the extras are absolutely not required for the truly frugal -- the magic is absolutely in the 'wand' part, as I proved when I reused my old mount and hose with just the head to try it out.

So that's it.

You can read the various reviews on Amazon yourself, but I challenge the board to share what *they* think is the best shower, and if it's not a Hansgrobe, I'd be surprised.

We first encountered the Speakman at the Eseeola Lodge in North Carolina mountains. So I bought one.

At home in normal water pressure it just wasn't anything unusual but at Eseeola is was terrific.

Just as an FYI, my water pressure, and flow are both sub-par -- thanks to a combination of factors, like the city not running a very high pressure, and where I am on the line, and old constricted cast iron feedlines, and the fact my home is like 40 years old, and finally, that the shower is in the farthest corner from the water heater and feed. If I use a conventional showerhead, it feels like just a trickle.

If the Hansgrohe is the shower head my parents had in their luxury condo, I will be forever in debt to you. I don't know what brand it was - and my parents did not recall - but it was a large diameter head with several settings including a bubble type of stream that sounds like what you are describing. It kind of foamed water all over you. I have purchased several other shower heads seeking this type of bubble foam experience but nothing has come close. I will begin researching this further!

Ozonewanderer wrote:If the Hansgrohe is the shower head my parents had in their luxury condo, I will be forever in debt to you. I don't know what brand it was - and my parents did not recall - but it was a large diameter head with several settings including a bubble type of stream that sounds like what you are describing. It kind of foamed water all over you. I have purchased several other shower heads seeking this type of bubble foam experience but nothing has come close. I will begin researching this further!

rama13 wrote:I just don't get the appeal for handheld showers. I can't stand them.

This one would function perfectly as a standard broad-distribution showerhead, so no worries.

HOWEVER, when I come in from mowing the lawn, I am often just completely caked on my shins and calves with tiny flecks of grass and dirt and yes, you can scrub them off with a washcloth but then it's fouled and needs to be cleaned itself, or else you can awkwardly try to get your leg up and at the right angle to get some pressure/focus on it... but it is so much better to just slip the head off the holder, wave it around, and poof, all ready for the wash cloth without picking up too much junk on your scrubber.

I have Speakman heads in both of my showers. Love 'em. Very basic, very reliable, and a good price. They aren't removable show heads, which was a plus because I have always had problems with those, I don't like how their hose hangs down in the shower, and I never use the removable feature.

I have a Speakman showerhead and my model is great for needle showers, but it doesn not produce the luxurious bubbly foam shower that I have been seeking. The Hansgrohe looks like it might be the one. I ordered it. At $160 off from Amazon, it would be a tremendous bargain.

Sounds like what we need is some one who has used both the Hansgrohe and the Speakman to give an assessment as to whether they are about the same, or there is a difference even between these two apparently very good heads.

As I said in my original post, this is admittedly a trivial topic, but the fact it is a repetitive part of our lives, every day, means that if you that if you can make it either a little less onerous or a little more pleasurable, then hopefully the cumulative effect is worth it, especially since the life of a shower head is many many years. The Hansgrohe claims it has a 'scale removal feature -- you just rub the little rubber nubs and supposedly that restores it. I have little confidence that some CLR would not be needed every five years or so for *any* brand, but again, a small price to pay for diving under a Bahamian waterfall every morning! . :lol:

Ozonewanderer wrote:If the Hansgrohe is the shower head my parents had in their luxury condo, I will be forever in debt to you. I don't know what brand it was - and my parents did not recall - but it was a large diameter head with several settings including a bubble type of stream that sounds like what you are describing. It kind of foamed water all over you. I have purchased several other shower heads seeking this type of bubble foam experience but nothing has come close. I will begin researching this further!

Following the tip from DRiP Guy (was your handle just a coincidence???) I ordered the Hansgrohe showerhead and the accessories. I can say that it is a really nice shower; I'm keeping it. The nickel doesn't exactly match my chrome but considering the nickel is $48.95 and the chrome is $117.60, I decided it was close enough. No one else sees my shower anyway - at least not for more than one night. Just kidding, I'm fantasizing...

Unfortunately it is not the same as my parent's showerhead which still ranks number 1. The stream cold be adjusted even softer than the Hansgrohe. The streams were 1/4" wide but full of air. I've spent a lot of money buying showerheads looking for this one. I'd be grateful for any leads.

As a result I happen to be experienced in the Speakman and WaterPik. I like the Hansgrohe better than the WaterPik. It provides more coverage over the body. The Speakman on the other hand is a needle type spray if that is what one is seeking. It is very different from the Hansgrohe. I find I just set the Speakman to the plain spray so for me it is just an expensive ordinary showerhead. But if you like a stinging spray to wake you up, it will do the job better than any other showerhead I've tried.

Last year I bought a pair of Giessdorf 8 shower heads for our walk-in shower. It's terrific - like taking a shower in a waterfall. Of course, if you have low water pressure, no shower head is going to deliver high pressure. You can't get blood out of a stone. But if you have decent water pressure and want a high pressure shower, it fills the bill.

Ozonewanderer wrote:
Following the tip from DRiP Guy (was your handle just a coincidence???) I ordered the Hansgrohe showerhead and the accessories. I can say that it is a really nice shower; I'm keeping it.

Unfortunately it is not the same as my parent's showerhead which still ranks number 1.

Sorry that my suggestion did not turn out to be the holy (shower) grail you were seeking. I know what it is like to want a very specific thing, only to find 'close' and 'almost' etc. Very frustrating. I do hope the Handsgrohe does work well for you, I am still chuckling my way through my daily showers as I leave it on the air infused setting... I'm sure at some point the novelty will wear off and it will mentally become 'just my regular shower' but for now, it really is a morning luxury.

And the DRiP from my 'handle' is from my Direct Investment PRogram method of investing by buying individual stocks from dividend paying companies before I discovered the Boglehead way!

rama13 wrote:I just don't get the appeal for handheld showers. I can't stand them.

This one would function perfectly as a standard broad-distribution showerhead, so no worries.

HOWEVER, when I come in from mowing the lawn, I am often just completely caked on my shins and calves with tiny flecks of grass and dirt and yes, you can scrub them off with a washcloth but then it's fouled and needs to be cleaned itself, or else you can awkwardly try to get your leg up and at the right angle to get some pressure/focus on it... but it is so much better to just slip the head off the holder, wave it around, and poof, all ready for the wash cloth without picking up too much junk on your scrubber.

I used to hate handheld shower heads, too, but as I started to become slightly less able to do the contortions necessary to get "complete coverage" with a fixed head, I began to change my mind. I probably would have bought the one the OP mentioned if I had known about it. I bought this one last fall: http://www.waterpik.com/shower-head/pro ... ay/TRS-553 I like it so much, I got one for my mom.

Mom has low water pressure and had another WaterPik model. The new one works vastly better.

As far as getting grass and dirt on the lower part of one's legs, I find long pants prophylactic.

Eureka wrote:As far as getting grass and dirt on the lower part of one's legs, I find long pants prophylactic.

For mowing in the hot Florida sun? I find that the shorts are pro re nata

:lol:

The fewer people exposed to the sight of my bare legs, the better. When I worked at my paper, there was a guy in a city not far from here who was arrested numerous times for doing yard work, including mowing, in the nude: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19037226.html

Eureka wrote:The fewer people exposed to the sight of my bare legs, the better. When I worked at my paper, there was a guy in a city not far from here who was arrested numerous times for doing yard work, including mowing, in the nude: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19037226.html

(shudder)

Hopefully, my legs aren't creating a public nuisance when I mow!

Oh, and 'uspeeed', I don't think your link works for the showerhead you recommended, but I did suss out that it is apparently an Alsons 655BCX that you recommend.

I did as you suggested (which is a terrific idea!) and looked at all the Amazon reviews. Unfortunately, what I saw was that the five-star reviews almost universally applauded not the 'nice to shower in' properties or features, but focused more on the water saving properties the head exhibits out of box.

Then I saw there was a subcategory of reviews that lauded it's ability to shoot out a 'firehose' like stream that 'stings' if you remove the 2.5gph reducer, for those with long hair, pets, and other needs who want to skirt the water saving properties mandated for all showerheads from the factory these days.

I also read the negative reviews, and those spoke of leaks, or poor quality. So a person needs to take all the info in, and make their overall decision based on the totality of info at their disposal. If I were a landlord needing a squadron of watersaving heads, all the same and cheap, perhaps I would go with that model.

But for my own personal use and pleasure, and expectations, I think there are a few alternatives given above that would suit me a lot better.

After researching shower heads, found this older thread. I miss having a handheld shower head. I'm in a rental now with a standard shower-head and I'd like to remove the current one (and keep it and place it back on when I leave)...and use one of these other heads in the meantime.

I'm not very handy around the home. Are the sizes of the pipes coming out of the wall usually generic?

Thanks

How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.

Barefootgirl wrote:After researching shower heads, found this older thread. I miss having a handheld shower head. I'm in a rental now with a standard shower-head and I'd like to remove the current one (and keep it and place it back on when I leave)...and use one of these other heads in the meantime.

I'm not very handy around the home. Are the sizes of the pipes coming out of the wall usually generic?

Thank you! Our WaterPik shower head is dying—after 8 years of regular use, it's developed irreconcilable leaks and the plastic mount is about to shear.

I searched for the model specified at the top of this thread, and found Amazon now charges $156.22 (plus you have to buy the mount & hose separately):Hansgrohe 28518831 Raindance E 150 AIR 3-Jet Hand Shower, Polished Nickelhttp://www.amazon.com/Hansgrohe-2851883 ... B0016H7UAE

However, I've just purchased this model that looks rather equivalent, but only $80 from Costco, including the mount & hose:

Barefootgirl wrote:After researching shower heads, found this older thread. I miss having a handheld shower head. I'm in a rental now with a standard shower-head and I'd like to remove the current one (and keep it and place it back on when I leave)...and use one of these other heads in the meantime.

I'm not very handy around the home. Are the sizes of the pipes coming out of the wall usually generic?

Thanks

As ozonewanderer states, it is a pretty easy job to do. Use pipe joint compound so it doesn't leak and is easier to take off later. I like the white stuff, not the grey stuff. Not the tape. Be careful to not loosen the pipe in the wall. Leaks in the wall are really bad.

I've been looking into this a little more - apparently, bubble showers, air injected into water shower heads have been the latest hot thing for the past few years...who knew? tall claims that it saves water, cleans skin better, etc.

How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.

Marylander1 wrote:Thank you! Our WaterPik shower head is dying—after 8 years of regular use, it's developed irreconcilable leaks and the plastic mount is about to shear.

I searched for the model specified at the top of this thread, and found Amazon now charges $156.22 (plus you have to buy the mount & hose separately):Hansgrohe 28518831 Raindance E 150 AIR 3-Jet Hand Shower, Polished Nickelhttp://www.amazon.com/Hansgrohe-2851883 ... B0016H7UAE

However, I've just purchased this model that looks rather equivalent, but only $80 from Costco, including the mount & hose:

Based on this thread I bought the Hangrohe Raindance showerhead. The hand spray is terrific. However the tube that connects the handspray to the showerhead pipe is plastic and it developed a leak where it screws into the pipe. I repaired it myself twice using some glue which made it better, but it still leaks some and I suspect over time it will leak more. For this reason, I cannot recommend it especially at this price point.

rama13 wrote:I just don't get the appeal for handheld showers. I can't stand them.

This one would function perfectly as a standard broad-distribution showerhead, so no worries.

HOWEVER, when I come in from mowing the lawn...

A detachable handheld shower head also come in handy for cleaning the shower enclosure. After you use enclosure cleanser, you then need something to remove that, and a handheld head does that job nicely*.

* The standard hose length that comes with a detachable shower head may be a little short for reaching all areas of a shower enclosure. Longer hoses are available.